African-American Organizations to Know

This article was updated as of 2/08/18

posted Jun 27th, 2016 at 12:00am

African-American Organizations

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Diversity Best Practices would like to provide you with a list of key organizations serving the African-American community. Additional information on African-Americans is available on this WOW! Facts One Pager.

The African American Planning Commission (AAPC) Inc., is a New York City-based nonprofit organization committed to reducing homelessness and addressing the related issues of domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, substance abuse, shortage of affordable housing, and unemployment in the communities in which we live and serve.

The American Association of Blacks in Energy is a national association of energy professionals founded and dedicated to ensuring the input of African Americans and other minorities into the discussions and developments of energy policies, regulations, R&D technologies and environmental issues.

The Association of Black Psychologists was established to promote and advance the profession of African Psychology,influence and affect social change and develop programs whereby psychologists of African descent can assist in solving problems of Black communities and other ethnic groups.

The Executive Leadership Council is the preeminent member organization for the development of global black leaders. The mission is to increase the number of successful black executives — both domestically and internationally — by adding value to their development, leadership, and philanthropic endeavors throughout the life-cycle of their careers thereby strengthening their companies, organizations, and communities.

ITSMF's mission is to increase the representation of black professionals at senior levels in technology, to impact organizational innovation and growth. By 2020, ITSMF will graduate 500 professionals through a series of rich, development, and career-advancing programs.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is a nonprofit public policy organization that produces innovative, high-impact ideas, research, and policy solutions that have a positive impact on people and communities of color. The Joint Center does this by building and fueling a nonpartisan network of innovative elected and appointed officials of color and scholars for whom this goal is a priority. The Joint Center uses policy roundtables, research reports, and targeted media to reach key audiences of innovative officials of color and other thought leaders.

NACME’s mission is to increase the number of successful African American, American Indian, and Latino young women and men in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers.

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.

The National Association of Black Accountants is a nonprofit membership association dedicated to bridging the opportunity gap for people of color in the Accounting, Finance, Consulting, Information Technology and other related business professions.

The National Association of Black Journalists was founded in 1975 and is an organization of journalists, students and media-related professionals that provides quality programs and services to and advocates on behalf of African-American journalists worldwide.

The National Black Chamber of Commerce, incorporated in Washington, D.C. in March 1993, represents 95,000 African-American–owned businesses and provides advocacy that reaches one million African-American-owned businesses. From the original 14 chapters the NBCC has grown to over 200 chapters located in 40 states and 50 nations. It is the largest Black business association in the world. The National Black Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African-American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the US and via interaction with the African Diaspora.

NBJC is America's leading national Black LGBT civil rights organization focused on federal public policy. The mission is to end racism and homophobia. NBJC provides leadership at the intersection of national civil rights groups and LGBT organizations, advocating for the unique challenges and needs of the African American LGBT community.

The National Black MBA Association is dedicated to developing partnerships that result in the creation of intellectual and economic wealth in the African-American community. The National Black MBA Association, which has more than 9,000 members and represents more than 300 corporate partners, operates around three cornerstones—education, employment and leadership. To date, NBMBAA was awarded over $5 million in scholarships to deserving youth and minority students.

The National Black Nurses Association’s mission is “To represent and provide a forum for black nurses to advocate for and implement strategies to ensure access to the highest quality of healthcare for persons of color.”

The National Council of Negro Women is an assembly of national African-American women’s organizations and community-based sections. Founded in 1935, the NCNW’s mission is to lead, develop and advocate for women of African descent as they support their families and communities. NCNW fulfills this purpose through research, advocacy and national and community-based services and programs on issues of health, education and economic empowerment in the United States and Africa.

The mission of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women is to develop leaders who will help to rebuild their communities and redirect the energies of younger African-Americans in those communities. The purpose of the Coalition is to foster principles of equal rights and opportunities, promote the awareness of Black culture, develop the potential of the membership for effective leadership and participation in civic affairs, take action on specific issues of national and international importance, and cooperate with other persons and organizations to achieve mutual goals.

The National Medical Association promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent. The organization is a leading force for parity in medicine, the elimination of health disparities and the promotion of optimal health.

The National Urban League is a civil-rights organization focused on the economic empowerment of underserved urban communities. The National Urban League works through 100 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia to provide programming, public policy research and advocacy designed to improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide.

The National Society of Black Engineers’ mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible African-American engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community. With over 30,000 members around the world, NSBE is one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the United States.

The Partnership, Inc. is New England's premier organization dedicated to enhancing the economic competitiveness of the region by attracting, developing, retaining and convening professionals of color. The Partnership has helped corporations gain a competitive edge by developing a culturally inclusive workplace. Their corporate partners are distinguishing themselves with employers who have different backgrounds, ideas and perspectives and as a result provide diversity of thought. Founded in 1987, The Partnership provides state of the art executive leadership development programs to help professionals of color reach their full potential. During our 31 year history, The Partnership has developed 4,000+ alumni and collaborated with more than 300 corporate partners.

The Organization of Black Designers is a non-profit national professional association dedicated to promoting the visibility, education, empowerment and interaction of its membership and the understanding and value that diverse design perspectives contribute to world culture and commerce. The Organization of Black Designers is the first national organization dedicated to addressing the unique needs of African-American design professionals.

The United Negro College Fund is the nation’s largest, oldest, most successful and most comprehensive minority higher-education assistance organization. The UNCF provides a range of support to keep academic programs strong and tuition affordable for 37 member historically African-American colleges and universities. As a result of this support, member institutions educate more than 50,000 students each year and have produced more than 430,000 graduates with the help of UNCF.

The U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC) provides committed, visionary leadership and advocacy in the realization of economic empowerment. Through the creation of resources and initiatives, we support African-American Chambers of Commerce and business organizations in their work of developing and growing Black enterprises. The USBC is an association of more than 100 self-sustaining Black Chambers and small business associations nationwide and serves close to 250,000 small businesses.